But those idiots' complaints about Douglas' hairstyle speak to the same issue and aren't so easy to dismiss. Winning does not preclude discussions of race, ethnicity, or class. While the joke circulated during the London Olympics -- Q: "What do you say when a mixed race woman, a Muslim immigrant, and a ginger walk into a bar?" A: "May I buy you a drink?" -- is heart-warming and hopeful, not everyone is ready to sing "Kumbaya."

I found this interview with Galina Stepanenko interesting, especially the end:

Izvestia: How is the preparation for the premiere of Mats Ek's “Apartment” going?G.S.: We have been rehearsing for several weeks. The artists of the Bolshoi Theatre have worked with Ek's assistants. His wife, the outstanding ballerina Ana Laguna, came here; and now the choreographer himself has come here. He will spend the next several days watching the performing artists and assessing the work done.Izvestia: He wasn't scared away.G.S.: He is a brave man.

And her statement somewhere in the middle:

Izvestia: How are you going to develop your work with the main opponent of the theater management, Nikolai Tsiskaridze?G.S.: Today Nikolai Tsiskaridze is still on the team. He teaches, rehearses and dances.

Yes, Helene, but my point was that as Elizabeth Taylor famously said 'nothing deodorizes like success.' Of course there are going to continue to be bigots, racists, and hatemongers--but if you noticed the general public response to the idiot comments it was mostly outright dismissal, not to speak of horselaughs. The massive success and fame of Douglas and Mustafina goes a long way--even with idiots--towards demonstrating the absurdity of blanket racial hatreds; for one thing, they are in the public eye and held up as 'role models' as the phrase used to go, lol. Everyone's never going to be ready to sing 'Kumbaya,' but they can at least be discouraged from singing "Deutschland uber Alles" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

This article from 2005 also refers to violence with acid. The article, from the NYTimes, is about the Russian choreographer, Dmitri Briantsev, who was murdered in Prague in 2005, probably because of business dealings.

Real estate poses dangers for other figures in Moscow's arts world. Mikhail Levitin, artistic director of the Hermitage Theater, a historic building in a picturesque park on prime central Moscow real estate, has complained for years that he is being squeezed out by forces that want to turn the theater into an entertainment complex.

Mr. Levitin told the Russian media recently that he had been threatened with violence and warned that acid would be poured on his wife and that his baby daughter would be harmed if he did not leave his post.

"In our country art is always dangerous," said Ms. Kolesova, the dance critic. "Before the authorities persecuted for creative positions, now criminals persecute for real estate."

I found this interview with Galina Stepanenko interesting, especially the end:

Izvestia: How is the preparation for the premiere of Mats Ek's “Apartment” going?G.S.: We have been rehearsing for several weeks. The artists of the Bolshoi Theatre have worked with Ek's assistants. His wife, the outstanding ballerina Ana Laguna, came here; and now the choreographer himself has come here. He will spend the next several days watching the performing artists and assessing the work done.Izvestia: He wasn't scared away.G.S.: He is a brave man.

And her statement somewhere in the middle:

Izvestia: How are you going to develop your work with the main opponent of the theater management, Nikolai Tsiskaridze?G.S.: Today Nikolai Tsiskaridze is still on the team. He teaches, rehearses and dances.

Just read the entrie interview. Liked it. She very diplomatic. She seems to know how to reveal things without being too revealing and she apparently has a mastery at side-stepping the more hot botton questions with relative ease. She appears confident, strong and very assure of herself. Who knows in the long run having a female running the biggest ballet company in the world is just what the Bolshoi needs at this time. Here's to her sucess until Mr. Filin is able to return...and if she is successful...hopfully Mr. Filin will keep her own as an official AAD.

The Filin-Bolshoi story is one of the main features in this week's TIME magazine (cover title "Scandal Ballet"). It's writen in simpleton (big brush-stroke) terms, mainly focusing on the Tsiskaridze vs Iksanov angle. It's obvious that the author, Simon Shuster, is not a ballet insider.

Positives: Ballet in the news (with a spread of lovely color photos). Negatives: Simplistic analysis, not even mentioning other plausible theories known in the ballet world.

Interesting tidbit that I had not read before: American member of the Bolshoi corps, Joy Womack, is quoted as saying that she was 'welcomed' with glass in the pointe shoes when she joined.

This is the issue with a grayish photo of the back of Pope Benedict on the cover. "Sandal Ballet" title appears on the cover, above the photo of the Pope. Quite confusing.

I have the queazy feeling that some awful sort of 'Black Swan - Russian Style' movie may come out of all of this.

Oh, that's a shame. Do look for it in the newstands, if it's still there.

Here is the exact Joy Womack mention/quote (typing as I look at p. 37 of the hard copy):

Dancers have been known to place pieces of glass in a rival's slippers just before the curtain rises. Joy Womack, an American dancer in the Bolshoi's corps de ballet, says she was once the victim of such sabotage, which left both of her feet covered in blood. "The pressure made her do it," she says of the dancer she believes placed glass in her shoes.

Oh, that's a shame. Do look for it in the newstands, if it's still there.

Here is the exact Joy Womack mention/quote (typing as I look at p. 37 of the hard copy):

Dancers have been known to place pieces of glass in a rival's slippers just before the curtain rises. Joy Womack, an American dancer in the Bolshoi's corps de ballet, says she was once the victim of such sabotage, which left both of her feet covered in blood. "The pressure made her do it," she says of the dancer she believes placed glass in her shoes.

Russia’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that it was proceeding with “a series of urgent investigative actions,” including questioning the suspect, who was detained in the Moscow suburb of Stupino, and searching his apartment.

A law enforcement official told Russian television that the man is suspected of carrying out the acid attack on a contract basis and not associated with the Bolshoi Theater. The official said investigators have not identified the person who ordered the attack.

Russia’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that it was proceeding with “a series of urgent investigative actions,” including questioning the suspect, who was detained in the Moscow suburb of Stupino, and searching his apartment.

A law enforcement official told Russian television that the man is suspected of carrying out the acid attack on a contract basis and not associated with the Bolshoi Theater. The official said investigators have not identified the person who ordered the attack.

The story has been updated since this morning...same link as above. Pavel Dmitrichenko, a dancer with the company, has been detained.

The Interior Ministry said the alleged perpetrator, 35-year-old Yury Zarutsky, was arrested in the Tver region north of Moscow. Earlier in the day, police had detained and questioned the suspected accomplice, whom the spokesman identified as Andrei Lipatov. No other details were provided.

Russian news agencies reported that Lipatov had been detained in the town of Stupino, a sprawling Moscow suburb that has summer houses owned by the Bolshoi Theater and used by its dancers and management. Dmitrichenko said in a recent interview that he was managing the dachas in his spare time.

Here is the exact Joy Womack mention/quote (typing as I look at p. 37 of the hard copy):

Dancers have been known to place pieces of glass in a rival's slippers just before the curtain rises. Joy Womack, an American dancer in the Bolshoi's corps de ballet, says she was once the victim of such sabotage, which left both of her feet covered in blood. "The pressure made her do it," she says of the dancer she believes placed glass in her shoes.

And how would they do this? Dancers typically put their 'slippers' (pointe shoes?) on in their dressing room.